Nissan Halts Sales Of Certain 2016 Maxima Sedans

Nissan issued a stop-sale order for the 2016 Nissan Maxima due to an unidentified quality problem. The announcement covers only certain cars, identified by the vehicle identification number (VIN) rather than by a trim package as usually happens in such cases.

According to Auto News, quoting Nissan spokesman Steve Yaeger, it is not yet clear what the quality concern is or how many vehicles are affected. Though the stop-sale order has been sent to all U.S. dealerships over the past few days, it is not affecting production of the 2016 Maxima, Yaeger added.

The carmaker will make a public statement about the issue as soon as it manages to isolate the precise quality concern. The number of vehicles involved in what could become a recall is expected to be small.

The 2016 Maxima went on sale in June, when deliveries of the sedan increased 14 percent to 4,037 from the same month last year. The new Maxima retails from $32,410.

Nissan’s largest sedan in the U.S. was overhauled for the 2016 model year, receiving new styling heavily based on the 2014 Nissan Sport Sedan Concept of 2014. The interior was also rebuilt and it now includes a more premium feel, the brand’s innovative Zero Gravity front seats, and an 8-inch color display with smartphone-like gestures. The revised 3.5-liter V-6 engine contains 60 percent new parts and cranks out 300 horsepower and 261 pound-feet of torque.

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Why it matters

Even though this has yet to become a recall, it adds to the seemingly never-ending series of callbacks that has affected 10 of millions of cars over the last 18 months. The good news here is that Nissan sold very few cars until it discovered there might be an issue, and most affected cars are likely to still be in dealer parking lots. Still, an issue is an issue and it remains to be seen if the number of vehicles involved is indeed as small as Nissan claims.

What bugs me about this announcement is that the company claims it has yet to isolate the exact quality issue. I know modern cars are intricate, but it’s not
rocket science. Fingers crossed it’s just a minor issue. The 2016 Maxima is a promising sedan and it would be a shame to begin its new life cycle with a recall.